The St. 亚洲无码 Economic Development Partnership board will not begin a search for a new executive director in the immediate future, opting to give interim CEO Rodney Crim more time to stabilize the group in the wake of its former leader鈥檚 departure.
鈥淏ecause of the staffing changes, and some of the positions not being renewed, it鈥檚 also, I think, we鈥檝e kind of thought that we鈥檙e going to let Rodney get our house in order before we were to make any decision about potentially doing a search,鈥 Partnership board chair Karlos Ramirez said at the group鈥檚 regular meeting Wednesday. 鈥淚 think we put our best foot forward a lot better when our house is in order. So, I think that Rodney鈥檚 definitely taken the bull by the horns, and I think that everybody feels, at least I believe, my sense is, that everybody鈥檚 feeling much more included and much better with his leadership and what we鈥檙e doing moving forward.鈥
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Crim took over last month at the economic development agency that was established to represent St. 亚洲无码 and St. 亚洲无码 County after its former CEO Sheila Sweeney was forced out. Her three-year tenure was marked with high staff turnover, low morale and political influence from St. 亚洲无码 County Executive Steve Stenger鈥檚 office, according to former staffers.
Crim, the former chief of the city鈥檚 economic development arm, moved to the Partnership when it was formed in 2013, though his role and responsibilities were mostly behind-the-scenes in recent years.
Since taking the helm, Crim has formed board committees to examine hiring and compensation policies, real estate transactions and other internal controls. He said he has started sending biweekly reports on the Partnership to the board and the County Council.
Crim presented at a County Council committee hearing this month, and on Wednesday, St. 亚洲无码 County Councilman Mark Harder came to the Partnership鈥檚 meeting at the invitation of Crim.
鈥淭he leadership of Rodney and what we鈥檙e doing now as far as being more transparent with the staff, with the board, with the County Council, I think that鈥檚 no accident,鈥 Ramirez said. 鈥淩odney鈥檚 put a lot of thought into that.鈥
Repairing relations with the County Council is critical for the regional economic development organization鈥檚 budget, which relies on the county for about $4 million in annual funding. The city鈥檚 economic development arm contributes about $1.1 million to the organization鈥檚 budget.
The St. 亚洲无码 County Council, long at odds with Stenger, moved late last year to begin funding the Partnership quarterly, saying it wanted to keep closer tabs on the organization.
The council has also tried to take over the powerful St. 亚洲无码 County Port Authority, which collects about $5 million in annual rent payments from the River City Casino and pays some $800,000 in fees for the Partnership staff to manage the entity. Stenger鈥檚 office and the council are in litigation to determine whether the council鈥檚 new port authority is valid.
The Partnership鈥檚 $13.3 million budget for the year, adopted Wednesday, is 6 percent below last year鈥檚 and still requires the use of about $1.5 million in reserves. The budget assumes the council will grant the Partnership鈥檚 quarterly funding allotments.
鈥淚n spite of whatever cuts we鈥檙e going through, we鈥檙e looking to continue at the equal if not better quality of service that we鈥檙e doing,鈥 Ramirez said.
Besides Sweeney, other top leaders, including Chief Financial Officer Joyce Steiger, are also set to depart. Communications Vice President Katy Jamboretz is leaving, and former business vice president Jamey Edgerton left last month. Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ginger Imster confirmed Wednesday she is departing this week.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not rushing to fill the open positions because we need it for budget reasons as well as the staff has a lot of capabilities, so we want to play to people鈥檚 strengths and provide new opportunities for the team,鈥 Crim said. 鈥淔ocus on the work. That鈥檚 been the theme throughout all of this.鈥